Mudd
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A rather unusual world, Mudd is named for its only human citizen, Harcourt Fenton Mudd. It is the second of five planets in orbit around UFC 257704, a moderate-size red star.
The population of Mudd is made up of more than two hundred thousand androids, which were built by an extragalactic civilization that became extinct more than one million years ago. The androids, humanoid in appearance, were created as servants and are programmed to serve the needs of living beings. Harcourt Mudd inadvertantly landed his spacecraft on the planet in an effort to evade a Federation trade patrol from Dened. Sensing his inability to stay out of trouble, the dutiful android population dismantled Mudd's spacecraft to protect him from his own nature. Mudd became a virtual prisoner in paradise, with all of his material needs met to excess.
Living in an extensive and comfortable underground city built long ago, Mudd became Mudd the First, a king whose every wish (save that for freedom) was obeyed. Planet Mudd's existence was discovered when the androids, following Mudd's orders, hijacked the Constitution-class U.S.S. Enterprise and brought its crew to the planet as company for Mudd. The crew of the Enterprise escaped, but Mudd was held on the planet, again for his own protection.
Mudd eventually managed to escape himself, leaving the android servants to search for other ways to fulfill their programming. Federation traffic was rerouted to avoid the area, but the androids have space travel capability, and another encounter is expected.
Climate
Mudd is a harsh, lifeless world of unbreathable gases and never ending storms. When the Andromedan Makers were first investigating planets to use as outposts for exploration, they believed the inhospitable conditions on Mudd would let them use the planet undetected until they were ready to make contact with our Galaxy’s inhabitants. However, they were no more capable of surviving on Mudd than human beings would be, so they first sent a crew of androids to take possession. These androids created underground pressurized facilities.
Geography
Galor IV is a rocky world, rich in common industrial minerals. While this makes Mudd of some importance in mining and trade, it also means it possess all of the local materials needed to build extensive underground facilities. The first androids sent by the Makers created the first of these facilities, and then creating tens of thousands of new androids, each new set building new chambers and facilities.
Civilization
The “civilization” of androids on Mudd has always been extremely utilitarian, with many hundreds of identical androids built in each series, designed for specific work. Numbered pendants they wear on necklaces differentiate these androids. Though highly sophisticated from a mechanical standpoint, the androids are not truly sentient the way Commander Data of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and -E is. Instead, they use expert systems that let them assess the situations they are in and choose the most logical course of action. When additional computing resources are required, they can pool their resources together through a single coordinating locus. This makes them highly susceptible to illogical commands or propositions, as their expert systems are not sophisticated enough to discriminate between truth and fiction, fact or fancy.
History
Countless centuries ago, the beings known as the Makers, native to the Andromeda Galaxy, became curious about our galaxy. They decided to set up several outposts which, after preparation had been completed, they could use as bases for their exploration of the local systems. Galor IV was one of the first worlds designated as an outpost, and they sent a ship of androids to prepare the forbidding world for productive use.
Their androids performed perfectly. However, before the Makers could join them and begin their exploration, their home world’s sun went nova, destroying their world and severing all contact between Mudd and the Andromeda Galaxy. The androids were cut adrift, without purpose. These androids were sophisticated in many ways, but were simple in others, and lacking instructions merely shut down to wait for new orders.
This wait ended in late 2266, when a damaged ship crashed on the planet’s surface. The androids automatically reactivated and brought the sole occupant of the ship in. This occupant was Harcourt Fenton “Harry” Mudd, a confidence man and rogue on the run from legitimate authorities throughout the Federation. Harry Mudd, upon learning the androids were without direction, declared himself Lord Mudd, programming the androids to serve his every whim and directing them to build many more series of androids — mostly in the image of beautiful women — for domestic service as well as their original functions. For a brief time, Mudd was very happy, even going so far as to name the world after himself. (A name which, contrary to standard procedure, has not been made the official designation for UFC 257704-II. It is a name still in common use among archaeologists and other scientists studying there, however.)
However, when Harry Mudd discovered the androids would not let him leave — needing him to provide purpose and information about the Galaxy — he hatched a plan to substitute an entire starship’s worth of masters for the androids, using the ship to leave. Sending the Norman unit — one of the locus units and among the most sophisticated on the planet — to snare a starship, Mudd was delighted to have his “old friend” James T. Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise fall into his trap in 2267. However, when it turned out that the androids would still not let Mudd free — and indeed, intended to enslave humanity to their benevolent service, believing Mudd to be typical of the breed — Mudd joined forces with the Enterprise crew. They defeated the highly literal androids by directing illogical, causality loops and surreal activity towards them, causing an overload of their computational resources and a burnout of the Norman unit. After reprogramming the androids to return to adapting Mudd for productive use, Captain Kirk imprisoned Mudd there, with Mudd’s complete rehabilitation the only condition of his release. Kirk also arranged for the construction of the 500 unit “Stella” series of android, in the image of Mudd’s estranged wife, as incentive to reform.
Harry Mudd’s final fate is, curiously enough, unknown.
Places of Interest
There are several archeological sites devoted to the ancient Andromedan Makers, and the production facilities for the Andromeda style androids are also well known. Most students make a point of visiting the sumptuous Lord Mudd chambers at some point. There is also a rumor of a sealed chamber deep within Mudd, labeled “Stella Containment Facility — do not open.” This, of course, is unconfirmed, though the legendary Stella series of androids is no longer in service on Mudd.
Reference(s)
- Burns, Eric, Kenneth A. Hite & Doug Sun. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 7: Worlds, Decipher, 2005. ISBN: 1582369097.
- Johnson, Shane. Star Trek: The Worlds of the Federation, New York: Pocket Books, 1989. ISBN: 0-671-66989-3.